Instructions and projects that celebrate the diverse beauty and creative possibilities of macramé and knots

Every day for a year, artist Windy Chien learned to tie a new kind of knot and then shared the results on Instagram—revolutionizing knot art and reinventing her life and career in the process. In The Year of Knots, Chien describes how her knot-making project led her on a path of discovery. The book combines projects, tutorials, and transformative personal stories, all aimed at inspiring readers to make knotting—and creativity in general—part of a meditative daily practice. The knots in the book are gorgeously documented step-by-step for the many knot- and macramé-obsessed readers out there wanting to try it themselves. Knotted projects abound: a necklace, a dog leash, along with wall hangings and a hanging light. At the heart of the story is the simple, empowering idea that a single year is all the time you need to make a life-changing creative leap.

Praise

"Windy is making waves, redefining our understanding of the capabilities of macramé, bringing an art form that was previously limited to wall hangings into the three-dimensional world. ... As such, it comes as no surprise that her work’s motto is ‘elevating the everyday.’ It’s all about being immersed in inspiration."

— Jen Woo, Dwell

"One could argue that Windy’s circuitous path is visibly present in her art, as though her life’s journey is translated into the fibers of her installations—wandering, meandering, and resisting stasis with every curve. Perhaps that is one of the things that is most compelling about her art, the way it almost beckons to us, giving us permission to iterate, explore, and reshape our very existence again and again, just as Windy so bravely continues to do."

— Chelsea Sonksen, Editor in Chief, Bossladies Magazine

“Knots symbolize many things, from tension, to energy, to love. The Year of Knots explores all of those things, as Windy Chien brings her gift for storytelling, her passion for her craft, and her straightforward teaching style to this gorgeous knot-making guide.”

— Lisa Congdon, artist and author

About the author

Windy Chien works at the intersection of function, design, history, and aesthetics to illuminate what is most fascinating about knots: the journey of the line. Her sculpture ranges in size from a knot that can fit in the palm of a child's hand to majestic, room-sized installations. Following long careers at Apple and in the music industry, she launched her studio in 2015. Chien’s clients include IBM, the Four Seasons, and the National Geographic Society, and her work has been covered by Wired, the New York Times and Martha Stewart.

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